To Steal A Heart Danmachi x P5
by Losario
Summary: When the Holy Grail completes his mission to merge the real world and Mementos, Joker's soul is lost to the whims of fate. Ending up in the Dungeons of Orario, what lies in store for the Leader of the Phantom Thieves in this new and unfamiliar terrain. A P5 x Danmachi crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**Not expecting this story to get much traction, as it is a very specific criteria that likely isn't popular. However, I think this is a fun and interesting concept that those who do read this enjoy thoroughly. If people enjoy it, I'll do more chapters and make this a full fleshed out story, as I have a lot of ideas for character interactions. Anyway, I do not own anything for either Persona or Danmachi, and I'm writing this for the pure joy of it. **

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A collective round of "oomphs" was heard as the Phantom Thieves were dropped onto the hard sidewalk. Slowly getting their bearings, they looked around in shock. The normal city of Tokyo they once knew, had turned into a nightmare dimension. They all looked around, wholeheartedly confused. Noticing the normal people around them, it didn't look as if anyone was as freaked out about this crazy abnormality as they were. They fully stood to their heights and looked around, hoping for anyone to see the craziness around them.

"What great weather. Wanna go for a drive?" A plain looking man said.

"Hello, its about tomorrow's preliminary meeting." A passing business man said into his phone.

"The new smartphone is dropping tonight!" A geeky man said to his small group of friends.

"What were the Phantom Thieves all about anyway?" A flashy woman laughed as she waited for a cab.

"Oh man, hearing that brings back memories. I feel so dumb for even believing they existed." A very laid back man said to his female counterpart.

"It was fun news though. I doubt anyone believes they're around anymore." A smart looking woman with glasses said. Yusuke was the first to break the silence amongst the Phantom Thieves.

"Why isn't anyone noticing this abnormality?" Yusuke asked shocked. Makoto was the first to respond,

"It's probably because they don't feel its odd." Everyone looked around even more confused. How could anything about this hell not be seen as wrong. As everyone was taking in the horror landscape some more, Futaba started stumbling, garnering everyone's attention. With a groan she fell to her knees, holding her head with one hand. Ryuji was the first to move, coming to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He asked confused and worried for his dear comrade.

"Ohh.. I feel… woozy.." Futaba struggled out. She gave another groan and looked even closer to fainting. Ann ran over and held out a hand to the poor girl.

"Futaba, grab on." Ann blurted out, right before she too stumbled and fell to the ground with another groan.

"Ann?" The demure Haru yelled. Everyone's eyes were on the group until they heard another stumble behind them. Akira himself, Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was also brought to his knees, clutching his head and letting out a groan. Soon after the last of the Phantom Thieves, Yusuke, and Makoto were brought to the ground.

"Is this by the Holy Grail too?" Makoto asked through clenched teeth. Everyone struggling to keep up right. Ryuji slammed his foot on the ground, before yelling aloud in anger.

"That son of a bitch! What's this creepy ass shit abou- Ugh!" Ryuji cried out as he fell face first into the concrete. "Oww." Ruji groaned out. Lifting his head, Ryuji came upon a sight that made his eyes go wide. Everyone's eyes soon following. "AAAGH!" Ryuji cried out, looking at his now nearly invisible hand. The black flames that were lapping at his wrist continued up his arm, making more of the appendage vanish along with it. "My, my hand?" Everyone was thoroughly horrified, looking at Ryuji's now missing hand.

"Ryuji?" Ann called out before she too lost more strength. Looking down at her legs, she saw that she too was falling under the same spell. Soon everyone was starting to lose appendages, their body's becoming ethereal, slowly swallowed by the black flames.

"This can't be real right?" Makoto asked, hope fading fast from her voice.

"What is happening to us?" Yusuke struggled out.

"No… no" Haru gasped out, tears already starting to fall from her eyes.

"My body's.. Disappearing." Futaba breathed out, her voice having an edge of hysteria to it.

"Don't tell me..!" Morgana said, the shock evident in his eyes and voice. A guttural voice chuckled darkly at the plight of the group.

"Indeed. This isn't my doing" The warbled voice said. "You imbeciles are about to disappear from the people's cognition." Everyone's eyes widened at that, Haru and Futaba letting out scared squeaks as well. "Mementos and reality have become one," The dark warbled voice continued, "Thus, those who have disappeared from cognition cannot exist anymore." The dark voice chuckled again as everyone attempted to process the severity behind those words. Ryuji was again the first to speak up.

"Disappear my ass… What the hell!" He yelled out. Ryuji let out another scream as the black flames continued to consume him, and before the rest of the Phantom Thieves eyes, he vanished.

"Ryuji!" Ann called out to her now lost friend, tears streaming down her eyes, before the black flames consumed her as well.

"Is this really it?" Yusuke asked to no one in particular. Letting out another painful grunt he too was consumed. Futaba not far behind was also consumed, with only a desperate "No.", she left this plane.

"Morgana, where did we.. go wro-." Makoto couldn't even finish as she too was consumed by the insatiable flames. Haru could only watch in horror, taking deep breaths and letting the tears flow freely, and then she was gone. The only two left were Morgana and Akira, the beginning, and now the end of the Phantom Thieves.

"Is this all my fault…? Because.. I brought you all there?" Morgana said aloud, despair filling his vision as the small cat couldn't find the strength to stand. Akira, ever the faithful friend tried one last time to console his friend. The horror's had left him mute, only able to watch as everyone disappeared, but he couldn't let his longest friend hang in despair before this horrible fate consumed them both.

"It's not your fault. None of us could have known." Akira said. He started reaching out to his friend once more. Using all the strength he had to just reach a little closer. Morgana turned his head over to Akira, tears filling his eyes. I didn't mean to..! I-I'm.. I'm sorry. The mission's a failure." Morgana choked out before closing his and letting his head fall. The black flames consuming his mere moments after. Akira could only look around him in horror. Here he was, Joker, the leader of the famed Phantom Thieves, and he didn't have the power to save them. He watched them all disappear. Dread filled his very soul as he flipped himself over onto his back, looking up at the deep red sky, and letting the blood rain fall onto his face. Tears leaked out of his eyes, grief for his dearest friends. The people who he loved and who loved him back. His family. Akira reached out his hand to the sky, his dark shaggy hair obstructing some of his vision from the nightmare sky.

"Everyone… I'm sorry." Akira breathed out, as his hand started to fully disappear. He couldn't hold on any longer, and in mere moments Joker was gone.

* * *

Lavenza did her absolute best to wrangle every soul of the Phantom Thieves and guide their wayward spirits into the Velvet room. So far she had been successful for every single one. There was only one left, and she couldn't falter now. She ran through the psychedelic colors that was they myriad of souls around her. The one she was looking for was distinct, and she would never miss it. There! Her eyes widened at the appearance of the Trickster. His soul a mixture of red and black with blue flames in the center, she would never forget it. As she came closer, his soul started to shape into his body. His appearance showing to her and her alone in this space. His true form, the outfit "Joker" covering his body. The very same outfit he traveled through Mementos with on all the adventures she felt truly grateful to have witnessed. Her heart felt full at having him close, and she wanted him closer still. As she waded through the ocean of souls, something started to feel off. Her eyes widened and she hurried her pace. As she attempted to get ever closer, Akira started to drift away. Lavenza's eyes widened in horror as she started to get further and further away from her goal, her trickster, her love. She tried for one last mad dash, not wanting to let him go. She nearly caught up to him, making a hopeful dive to her hope. She grazed his hand, the warm hand that would save this world, only for him to zoom off into the void. Lavenza could only sit there in shock as the last vestige of humanity's savior disappeared from her sight. Lavenza's eyes were hollow as she stared at the spot Joker used to be. She couldn't believe it. Just like that her hope was gone.

* * *

Akira groaned loudly. He felt as if he had been ran over by Morgana in his car form a thousand times and set aflame in gasoline. The cool uneven ground was a sharp contrast to the heat he currently felt in his body. He groaned as he clutched his burning head. After a few minutes though, the pain started to dissipate. He felt the cold ground even more now that his body started to feel like normal, though the soreness not leaving as fast as he would like it to. He brought a hand to his face and felt the fabric of his glove against his cheek. Akira's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet, his body groaning in protest. He looked at the bright red gloves covering his hand, before looking at the rest of his ensemble. His long coat was intact, the slits in the back to let it flow weren't torn either. His vest was still clean and his pants still fit comfortably. He looked down at his feet and noticed, aside from a scuff, his boots were fine as well. Finally he reached up and touched the mask across the upper part of his face. Akira closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing mind. He was wearing his mementos attire, meaning he was likely in mementos. But hadn't mementos and the real world conjoined? He remembered being in his school attire at the time, so it didn't make sense for him to suddenly change. Akira opened his eyes and analyzed his surroundings He was in a cave of some sorts. The walls, floor, and ceiling a cool blue color. He was in a tunnel portion it seemed, he could go left or right. This had to be a palace of some sort, Akira mused. Though it was unlike any he had ever seen before.

Akira's thoughts drifted to his comrades, the rest of the Phantom Thieves. He had watched them disappear one by one until only he was left. That had hurt so much to watch, that he still felt like crying, but if he was in a palace or some untouched part of mementos, than it was possible they were here as well. With his mind made up, Akira felt the confidence of his alter ego Joker come in full force. He gave a small smirk into the darkness on both sides. Deciding on taking the path to the left, he started running sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. It was time to make his dashing exit.

It didn't take long however before Joker realized that this was so unlike any palace he had been in previously, it wasn't even funny. The only truly different thing he had seen in this cave landscape wise was a staircase leading up. Seeing as how he had no idea where he was, he went up them. Soon though Joker saw the first signs of life since coming here, that is if you can call cognitions "Life". A small group of green humanoid creatures were fighting over what looked to be a small pack, its contents too far away for Joker to make out. They wore small fur loincloths and had several large moles and warts covering their body, their beady eyes showing a lack of hummed as he looked at the best way to approach these monsters. His usual form of sneak attacking was most prevalent in his mind, and since they were distracted, it would be easy for a master of stealth like him to make it over there undetected. As he got closer, he noticed they didn't have any masks on them. This gave Joker a pause. Everything in Mementos had a mask, even Okumura's security robots had masks. The only things that didn't were the non-combatant cognitions that the owner of a palace created. However, these looked like they could fight if the knives were anything to go by. Joker decided to change his plan on the fly. He pulled out his pistol. The God of Destruction pistol shone softly in the small glow that was given off the cave walls. Taking aim at the closest goblin, Joker pulled the trigger. Only to hear a small click and nothing else. This didn't make any sense. His gun looked real, and it has always worked. Why wasn't it working? Joker immediately took out his dagger and felt it. It didn't feel like the cool metal that he was used to in Mementos. It felt like the dull plastic it was. It only felt like that in the real world. But wasn't this Mementos? As Joker stood there and contemplated this shocking revelation, a Goblin started sniffing the air, picking up on his nearby scent. The Goblin made a growling noise, causing the other two to stop fighting and turn their eyes to the intruder. Joker's inner turmoil stopped when he noticed the small creatures turn their eyes on him. He cursed and jumped back several times to gain distance. The Goblins however weren't going to let him have it and started to give chase. Joker baited the little green devils closer to him and then smirked. He would have no problems against these tiny goblins, that looked suspiciously like the ones from the fantasy novels he read.

Joker brought his hand up to the edge of his mask. Willing his inner self out, he ripped off his mask and yellout out **"ARSENE"**. Joker's smirk faltered however as he didn't feel the rush of power that came with his longest held persona. Panic started to really set in for Joker now. The goblins continued their charge, their small knives glinting menacingly in the dim light. Joker dodged the first swipe, maneuvering around the second, and jumping over the third. He hopped back again away from the goblins before putting his mask back on and attempting to rip it off to summon another persona. **"YOSHITSUNE"**. Still nothing. He tried again still dodging the small terrors that kept swinging at him. **"THOR"**, **"ODIN"**, **"GABRIEL"**, **"CYBELE", "ALICE"**, the panic easily noticed in his voice as none of his strongest personas answered his call. Everything was going wrong, and he didn't know why. Akira settled the mask on his face once again and raised his fists. He would figure out the reason his trusted Personas had gone deaf later, now he needed not to die in an embarrassing manner to the little green assholes in front of him. The first goblin raced to Joker and went to swipe at his legs, only for Joker to jump and swing his foot out, knocking the little goblin away. The second and third were upon him now, trying to pincer him between the both of them. Joker sidestepped the first swipe, grabbing the tiny wrist of the small goblin, wresting its crude knife from its hands. Joker stuck out his leg and tripped up the approaching third goblin. Using the foot that had just tripped the third goblin, he snaked his boot around to the fallen knife, using his toe to get under it, he flicked it up and snatched it out of the air with his free hand. The Goblin who was knifeless reached down and bit the hand that was holding his wrist, making Joker cry out in pain. He released the goblins wrist and created space once more. He looked down at his bitten hand. Thankfully the Goblin didn't pierce the fabric, he really liked these gloves, and with his old weapons not working he didn't know if his clothes could actually get ruined. The goblins regrouped together, the knifeless one in the front. Joker appraised his new weapon, noticing it was essentially just a piece of iron of a tiny piece of wood. Not good, but it seemed as if it would work.

Joker raised his free hand up and made a 'Come on' motion. He didn't know if the Goblins understood, but it seemed enough to irritate them into charging. The weaponless one made it to him first and started wildly swinging with no actual form. Joker easily dodged the swiped and shoved his knife into the throat of the small goblin. Blood immediately poured out of the wound, and Joker pulled his knife free, giving it a small flick to remove any excess from the knife. The other two didn't even flinch at their comrade who now struggled to breathe. They jumped over his soon to be corpse and continued on. The first goblin to reach him did an immediate thrust with his small knife, which Joker easily parried, back handing that one away and focusing on the other Goblin attempting a swipe at his legs. Joker jumped once again over this goblins strike, kicking him in his big goblin nose before dashing onto him and stabbing him in the chest. The Goblin made a small squeal before it turned into black smoke and ash, leaving nothing but its knife and a small black stone behind. Joker couldn't marvel at it though as the other Goblin regained its footing and made a mad dash at him again. He easily dodged all the swipes of this small humanoid creature, and after finally letting it tire itself out, Joker flipped over the small creature, landing behind it and thrusting the tiny dagger into the small goblins back, near where he stabbed the second one. The Goblin gave one last small breath before it too vanished into ash and smoke. Joker looked at the last remaining Goblin, whose throat he had slashed as it gave one last painful wheeze and it too, poofed into smoke and ash. Joker looked at where the Goblin corpses once were, noticing again the small black stones they each left behind. Deciding to not leave them there, Joker picked them up and stuck them in his pocket, hoping maybe they would give him a clue as to what was going on. All he knew was that those weren't cognitions. He could tell, especially after fighting them near constantly for almost a year, but until he knew what exactly was going on, he was going to try and avoid being seen.

Making his way around, sticking to the shadows as much as he could, Joker started noticing that the caver was getting more lit. As he made his way closer to the light, he started noticing actual people. They dressed rather medieval if he was honest. Most carried swords or axes of some sort, but some also carried bows and some looked like stereotypical mages from the RPG's he would play on the computer Futaba gave him. A lot of them looked tired, some having scrapes, clothing torn, what looked like blood in some places, though most gave off an aura of joviality. Laughing with their comrades and telling jokes. Though a couple individuals did look rather upset, but those were the ones that looked more roughed up than the rest. As Joker continued closer to the light source it became near impossible for him to stay hidden, and so as casually as he could, he fell in step with another group, hoping that he was right about these not being cognitions and turning around to attack him. He felt almost naked without his personas available to him, and it really made him realize just how much he relied on them. No one in the group really took notice of him, and for that he was glad. He knew he stood out like a sore thumb compared to them. His attire being totally different and his mask being a beacon compared to most of the rugged faces that were in front of him. They soon came upon a big circular entrance with the source of light filtering from the top. They walked up the room via a large spiral walkway that curved along walls to the top. As Akira finally made it to the top, he had to squint his eyes a little as the light was invasive. Finally he seemed to make it out. Akira put his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light. When his eyes adjusted, he felt faint from what he saw. He looked up and saw that he was on the edge of one of the largest towers he had ever seen. It's spiral architecture reaching up almost as high as some of the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo. Looking out he saw that he was in a large clearing. Around him was a swarm of people. Caravans, wagons, more "Adventurer" looking people. As he took more notice, he saw that not everyone was human. Akira saw some very elegant long eared individuals that could only be elves, some people with different types of animal ears, and some that were incredibly short. The more he looked around,the more it looked like a fantasy RPG him and Futaba played. He looked around and noticed he was getting strange looks from people near him, probably due to his attire. Akira immediately made a dash to the buildings surrounding the large circle he was in to get a better vantage point.

Nimbly climbing up the walls, Akira got a good view of the "City" he was in. It honestly looked like a stereotypical medieval town, minus the castle, though he assumed the tower conuted for that. Though one big difference was that it was huge. The town was gigantic, and as he looked closer he saw some more modern buildings mixed in with the rest of the township, including one that kind of looked like an Elephant. Honestly, the more he looked around, the more confused he got. Akira took his mask off and put it in his pocket. He couldn't hide the rest of his outfit, but if it looked like he was just another person instead of someone trying to hide his identity, he may be able to blend in more when he finally had to walk amongst the people. First though, he started traveling along the rooftops, trying to soak in more of the sights and get a better layout of the land. He was also looking for a place that may be able to figure out where in the hell he was, and if he could get back to his friends and comrades. If he wasn't dead, then they might not be either, and for that he felt a spark of hope light in him once again. Granted he was still freaking out, this entire situation was entirely bizarre, but now he had a goal, and as Makoto had said many times before, "A driven Joker, is a scary Joker." As he continued on his roof trend, he spotted a brick building with several banners on it, and in the center above the doors were the words "Guild Headquarters". Akira paused. It keeps seeming more and more like an RPG, this is insane. Usually in RPG's, you went to the guild headquarters or taverns first to get quests and learn about the town and situation. Seeing as how he doubted this world accepted the several Yen bills he had in his wallet, he decided to make that his first destination. Deftly hopping down Akira made his way to the entrance. Thankfully, looking at the sign and understanding the jokes from the people before, it seemed like he would not have to worry about miscommunication, hopefully. Akira bobbed and weaved through the crowd of people making their way in and out of the doors. It seemed to be a busy hour, so he hoped he wouldn't have to wait long before hopefully learning something that would help him. There were several lines, some going to what looked like an exchange clerk, while some lines lead to what looked like tellers. Akira fell into the latter, since he didn't have anything he wanted to get rid of for this place's currency, if he even had anything that would sell.

He waited patiently in line for several minutes as the line progressed smoothly. He could tell he was getting a lot of odd looks from his attire, but he did his best to keep his chin up and ignore it. The eyes felt the very same from the ones in high school when he first transferred to Shujin, though with less malice and more curiosity. Finally it was his turn. He was called over to an average sized woman. She had short brown hair cut in a bob with bangs framing the sides of her face in front of pointed ears, with glassed over emerald green eyes. She gave him a warm smile as she gave him a once over, her petite eyebrows furrowing as she noticed his odd attire.

"Welcome to the Guild headquarters, my name is Eina, what can I do for you?" The seemingly elf-like lady asked him in a friendly and obviously practiced voice. Akira was about to answer, when he realized he didn't have one. He was so focused on not getting picked out of the crowd that he didn't figure out something to say. Thankfully, he was graced with an answer, as he heard from a few lines down "I'd like to become an adventurer!" _"You gotta be kidding me." _Akira thought to himself. This was ridiculous, if this was still someone's palace, he honestly thought they must've been the most creative and distorted individual to ever exist with this much detail. He went with his gut instinct though, and went with the mindset that this wasn't mementos. Akira gave his most easygoing smile to the lady and repeated what he heard just a second ago.

"I'd like to become an adventurer please."

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**And that's chapter 1. It's not that long, but if people enjoy this concept, I'll do longer and better chapters to fulfill the demand. I had a great time writing this, and it seemed to just flow easily. If there's anything I could improve on, please let me know. I am always wanting to improve and make people happy with my writings. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Here's to next time, maybe.**


	2. Chapter 2: Finally a Familia

**Thank you for reading Chapter two. I'm going to take this chance to clarify a few things. This story starts a little bit before Bell arrives in Orario, how much so will be apparent later. While I know that there is a crossover section, Danmachi x Persona is a very niche category, and I figured I'd give the story the best shot if I did sole Danmachi. Yes, Akira will get his persona's eventually. If he didn't he wouldn't be more than an OC and this wouldn't be much of a crossover. Sadly, none of the other Phantom Thieves are likely to be in this story, although that may be amended later if that will help improve the story. If you read last chapter, you'd have seen that they got pulled into the Velvet room, while Joker slipped away. I'll also be mixing up what I call Akira/Joker depending on who's speaking to him and if he's in combat. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you could review to tell me what you do and don't like as well as what I could improve upon, that would be amazing. Thank you.**

* * *

"I'd like to become an Adventurer."

Akira spoke the words he thought most likely to net him the information he desired. Eina looked at the man and giving him an odd look before resigning herself to a sigh. She honestly didn't want to take on another adventurer, she had just lost another rookie to the dungeons not yet a month ago. Poor souls who didn't take her warnings seriously and went gallivanting into the dungeons for gold and glory, only to end up the snack of some terrible beast. Maybe she'd push him off to another advisor so she wouldn't have the burden? No, she wouldn't put that on any of her coworkers. With a sigh, she brought up a placard that said "Closed", and after gathering what looked like several different forms and a quill pen, she gave the dark-haired boy in front of her a pointed look.

"Follow me." Akira gave a questioning glance to her annoyed expression but did as he was told, as she was likely the best source of information for him currently. After swinging around the counter, Akira finally got his first good look at the woman, aside from her annoyed expressions. She wore a long-sleeved white button-up, with a black best over it. Black slacks fit snugly over her legs and she wore black heeled boots, and to finish the ensemble was a silver bow tied neatly on her collar. She gave off a very confident and She led Akira to a side area he had not noticed on his arrival, that was just a row of couches facing each other with a table in the middle. She elegantly sat down on the far pair of couches they arrived at, gesturing to the one across from her. Taking the easy cue, Akira smoothly made his way into his seat. Adjusting his coat to be more comfortable, he gave her his full attention. If he wanted to have any clue as to where he was, or how to get back, he needed to pay attention to everything this woman said.

Eina handed Akira the stack of papers and the quill pen. "If you could please fill these forms out, we'll get started on making it official." Akira looked down at the forms and a bead of sweat started to form. There were so many questions that he didn't understand or couldn't answer. So much for remaining incognito. He started filling out the basic questions he could answer however, things like his height and age, but when he got to questions like place of birth or 'Familia', he had no choice but to leave those blank. He had no idea where he even was much less what a Familia actually was. Akira heaved a small sigh, gaining a raised eyebrow from the beauty across from him. Akira immediately recomposed himself and started filling out the questions he had left blank, with the hope that he could deceive her without too much trouble. For his place of birth, he decided to put 'Shibuya', but he still had no idea what 'Familia' was. Akira hoped it wouldn't bite him in the ass. Eina sat there patiently, waiting for Akira to finish the multiple forms. After a little while longer, Akira shuffled the papers together and set them on the table. Eina reached out and grasped the stack and started looking over its contents. Everything seemed normal at first, many new adventurers, especially one's from outside Orario, left the Familia line blank, as they usually get registered first before searching for a familia. Scrolling down she saw a couple lines that gave her pause. She had never heard of 'Shibuya' before, but considering the sound when she said it in her head, it was probably a small village from the Far East lands. He wouldn't be the first citizen in Orario from there so it wasn't too big of a deal. Another line that gave her pause was 'Former Occupation'. The youth in front of her had wrote 'Student', which struck her as odd. She glanced up from the forms and gave him a once-over. His hair looked clean, and his face unscarred. An obvious sign of very little to no hard labor or danger, so he was likely the son of a noble, or someone rich. Looking at the clean and high quality clothing he was wearing only added evidence to her thoughts. He was probably another spoiled rich kid looking for fame and glory in the dungeon, like she didn't see enough of those already.

Eina shook the pessimistic thoughts from her head and continued looking through the registration form. Looking over everything, she decided it was filled out enough to pass through. Eina sat the papers back on the table, and after sitting back on the couch and folding her hands into her lap she spoke. "I hope you're sure about this decision." Eina began, drawing the attention of Akira, who had started looking around while waiting for her confirmation. "The dungeon is a very dangerous place, and many people have lost their lives trying to find glory or be a hero. My job as an advisor is to prepare you for the dungeon and to keep you alive." Akira's eyes widened a tad at hearing this. This dungeon sounded like a challenge. _'Is it as bad as mementos?' _Akira thought questioningly. As he pondered this small question, his attention was brought back to the Advisor in front of him. "Before you go into the dungeon however, you first need to join a Familia." Eina informed the boy. Akira's eyes narrowed in annoyance, there was that word again. Familia. Well it seemed important, and he wasn't going to get anywhere not knowing what it was. So seeing no other alternative, and nothing around him that's going to give him an easy answer, he decided to voice his question.

"So what exactly is a familia?" Akira asked nonchalantly, as if he was asking what the weather was. He immediately regretted though as soon as he saw the absolute shocked face that adorned Eina's gentle features. Eina sat there with her mouth open, looking absolutely gobsmacked. "Was that a dumb question?" Akira asked, trying to break the now uncomfortable silence. Eina shook her head and coughed into her hand. A small red tinge rose onter her cheeks from embarrassment.

"Well considering where we are and the world we live in, yes it's a very odd question." Eina finally answered him after regaining her composure. Akira groaned internally, but this couldn't be avoided. Considering he possibly was from another world entirely, he hoped his lack of knowledge would be forgiven. Though he wouldn't tell her that, not yet at least. Akira hoped that there was some sore of confidentiality that would prevent his lack of knowledge becoming well-known and drawing attention to himself. "Well for starters, a Familia is a group of people that are led by a God or Goddess. The God's share a bit of their power and grant a 'Falna' to the people belonging to their familia, allowing them to gain excelia. This excelia allows them to increase their stats, surpassing normal human limits and giving them access to skills and abilities they would never be able to acquire without a falna." Eina took a small breath from her lengthy explanation. Akira himself however was in a state of bewilderment. Gods? Goddesses? Like the religious ones or the mythical ones? Plus Falna? Did it increase their stats like his Persona's slightly augmented his own body like in Mementos? So many more questions were racing through Akira's mind, but he decided to silence those and ask one he thought was more important.

"So are these gods like actual gods, or people that are just super strong?" Eina shook her head. If he didn't know what a familia was, it makes sense she supposed that he might not know a lot about the deities that walked the same ground they did.

" You lived a very sheltered life didn't you?" Eina asked, a small chuckle in her voice. "Very well. They are real Gods. They came down from Heaven around 1000 years ago." Akira's eyes widened at this information. If they are actual Gods, they may know information on how to send him home, or at the very least, explain how he got here. Before, he could dwell any longer, Eina continued. "They came down because they were bored and wanted to experience life among their children. While they are down here, however, they are not allowed to use Arcanum, their heavenly power." Eina finished her explanation and adjusted her glasses back on her face. She had not been expecting to explain such rudimentary information that everyone should know, especially if the person in front of her was as educated as he seemed. Akira closed his eyes in thought. The gods not having access to their power may put a damper on his ability to return home. Hopefully he would be able to find a way soon, he still had no idea about the whereabouts of the other Phantom Thieves, and wanted to make sure they were safe as soon as possible. But while he was here, he may as well play the part. With that being said, he had one last question that might just give Eina a brain aneurysm.

"So what does being an adventurer entail?" Akira asked, hesitation slowly creeping into his voice, not wanting to give too much of himself away, but Akira figured he might have done that already. Eina looked totally baffled yet again.

"You asked to be an adventurer, but you don't even know that they do?" Eina asked, shock evident in both her face and voice. Akira nodded his head, straightening himself on the couch in preparation for another long winded explanation. Eina was beside herself. The headache she could feel forming was going to be monumentous. Eina could not believe the youth in front of her was lacking so much knowledge. He must have been the most absolutely sheltered child imaginable. However, he was now her responsibility, and she would make sure he knew everything, and she meant everything he would need to know before tackling the unforgiving entity that is the dungeon. "Excuse me for a moment." Eina said, as she raised herself up from her seat. She walked away and soon Akira lost sight of her as she rounded a corner into a back hallway behind the desk he had found her at. Akira calmly debated bolting, he absolutely would if it looked like she was bringing security back with her to arrest him for being TOO suspicious. Honestly, he wouldn't blame her. The few questions he asked seemed like babies should know it, considering her reactions. However, he would be patient. He needed as much information as possible before moving forward, it wouldn't do him well to just accidentally offend someone and get himself locked up or killed in this new city, and he wouldn't be able to find a way home being in the shadows 24/7. Finally after what felt like an excruciatingly long time, but in reality was just a few minutes due to Akira's inner contemplation and suspense on her reaction, he finally saw her return. Eina rounded the tellers booth she worked behind, and Akira saw that while she did not bring back security, she definitely did bring back something that would give him as much of a headache.

Eina came around the corner carrying several leather bound books and a couple of old scrolls in her arms. She sped her way directly back to the table, dumping the heavy load onto the table top, being careful to avoid the freshly filled out form however. Eina stretched back up and wiped her forehead from the small bit of sweat that had accumulated on it.

"Now, we are going to begin a rigorous study session." Akira paled a little at the sight of the mountain of text before him. While he was a good student, Makoto made sure of that, he still didn't enjoy studying and being super studious. "We are not leaving tonight until I say so. If you are going to be an adventurer, I'm going to make sure you know absolutely everything you're going to need to know to survive." Eina gave a triumphant smirk at seeing Akira's pained expression. It was his turn to have a headache, her slight sadistic side told her. Akira gave a heavy sigh and picked up the topmost textbook in front of him and peeked the cover. 'Beginner Adventurers: The Basics of Survival'. Akira groaned, if this thick book was just the basics, he was not ready for the rest. Eina gave him a small smile as her compassionate side came back full force. She sat back down across from Akira and showed him her reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll be here to explain any questions you have. I won't leave you until I'm confident you can survive."

* * *

Akira huffed as he set down the last textbook. His brain felt so overloaded with information that he felt his mind might just start leaking from his ears. The headache he had built was astronomical compared to what he was used to. Honestly, he just wanted to close his eyes, and looking at Eina, it appeared she decided to do just that. Eina was curled up on the couch with her head laying on her arm over the armrest, letting out cute little snores as she snoozed on. Akira looked out the window seeing it was dark out, he had been here all day. Well all day if the day/night cycles were the same as where he came from.

Akira gave an annoyed glance towards the books. Nothing in there gave any inkling to him being able to return home. He had learned a lot from those books after all this time though, like how the stones he picked up from the dungeon were to be exchanged for the worlds currency. Speaking of, it was interesting to him that he had popped out in the dungeon of all places, and from what he read of the layout, he appeared on the second floor. When he told Eina about that little revelation, the scolding she had given him easily put her in the top 5 scariest women he had dealt with. Another thing he learned was that monsters were the only thing birthed in the dungeon, so he hoped by definition that didn't make him one. Looking over himself, he definitely was still him. Clad in his Joker attire he felt completely comfortable in his own skin, so he was glad nothing changed. Looking over to his now supposed advisor who was still quietly sleeping on, he gave her an annoyed look. He had wanted a break a while ago, and tried a little bit of flirting to make her flustered and agree. It usually worked with Makoto, and frankly with all the girls. A few choice compliments and sly words could work wonders, but that wasn't exactly the case with the half-elf in front of him. While she had blushed and became a stuttering mess, her resolve did not waver. Although he supposed that was fair since it was going to be his life on the line and not just his grades in the near future, at least until he could find a way home. So while he did get a confidence boost from getting such a reaction from the stoic beauty in front of him, her being steadfast had drilled in the importance of learning from these books and scrolls.

While he was no stranger to putting his life on the line, he did it practically everyday with the other Phantom Thieves, he was in no hurry to die. He still had family to save and a fake-God's ass to kick. So until that day came, he was going to do his best to get stronger here. He had not been strong enough to save his comrades, and when he returned, Akira vowed he would be. Akira stood up and stretched his legs, he had been sitting down for quite awhile, and aside from a couple bathroom breaks, he'd spent all his time in this chair. He leaned over across the table and gently nudged the sleeping advisor who woke up with a jolt.

"I'm awake I'm awake." Eina said as she sat up and yawned. She gave her tired eyes a rub, and proceeded to do a quick stretch. "I'm sorry for falling asleep Akira, it's just been such a long day." She apologized, giving him a small bow. Akira chuckled giving her a small wave.

"It's fine. As you can see I've been a good boy and finished my assigned reading my teacher." Akira smirked as he finished. Eina laughed softly rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry for pushing so much on you." Eina spoke. "Its just when you appeared to know next to nothing, I went into overdrive to make sure you'd be prepared." Eina eyes fell before she continued. "I've lost adventurers who didn't take my words seriously, and went headlong into the dungeon, ignoring my warnings." Eina's eyes teared up a little bit before she raised her head, showing the pained look to Akira. "All those faces, I remember them all. Even the ones that don't need me as their advisor anymore, I recognize all their faces when I see them in obituaries." Eina's voice started getting louder. "No one seems to understand how hard it is when after doing your absolute best to help someone, and they still die, and it torments you as you wonder what you could have done more to help. So many deaths I've had to shake off because I've always had more adventurers to advise. More adventurers that don't heed my warnings and more death reports that I have to sign off on because I'm partly responsible as their advisor." Eina's clenched her eyes shut, shaking her head slightly before she looked at Akira again. "And then you come in here, asking to be an Adventurer, yet you know as much about this line of work as a newborn. It's so hard for me to not just rip up your application. So before we continue, I need to know you won't be like them. I need to know you'll survive. I won't be able to sleep at night unless I know you'll listen to me and be the smartest person in that evil dungeon." Eina finished, her voice raising to a yell. Akira's eyes widened. He had not been expecting this at all. Akira had not really been around death all that much. The only person who he had been around that had fallen was Akechi, and while he couldn't really be considered a friend, Akira had pitied the boy, it also helped that Akechi had given his life so Akira and his friends could live. Looking at the pained expression in Eina's eyes though, he could tell it'd been worse for her. Seeing probably multiple adventurers, fresh faced and excited falling to the wayside because they got too excited and not being able to do anything about it. He could only imagine how much that hurt. Akira reached over and took Eina's hand, knocking her out of her personal nightmare. He gave her a warm smile before speaking firmly,

"I promise you, I will not die. There is too much riding on my survival. I will listen and learn to you as my advisor. I need to survive, I need to get stronger to rescue and save those I care about. I will not die." Eina's eyes widened. She didn't quite understand what he meant by that, maybe some misplaced dream of glory, though she sincerely hoped that wasn't it, but he had said it with such conviction, that she couldn't help but believe him. Eina allowed a small smirk to find her lips before she nodded. While this wasn't ideal, and she wasn't normally this emotional, she felt a little better at this moment from hearing his affirmation. Using her other hand to wipe away her tears, she let out a relieved sigh. Noticing their hands were still connected however, a blush rose to her face before she pulled her hand away. Her emotions had been wild today, it was time to bring this day to a close. She needed to go back to sleep. Eina coughed into said hand, before speaking.

"Well I think that's enough for today. Since you're new to Orario, do you have a place to stay?" Eina asked the boy in front of her, who according to his registration was only a year her junior. An aghast look came over Akira's face before he chuckled nervously.

"I honestly haven't thought about it. Oops?" Akira laughed again. Eina sighed, and just like that her worries were back, though not as severe as before. Eina stood from the couch and gestured for Akira to follow her with a simple "Come here." Akira did as he was told, following the woman to a barred booth that said 'Exchange' over the top of it.

"Please hand me the stones you collected today." Eina asked the youth. A slight look of realization dawned on Akira's face before he took out the three stones from the goblins he killed from within his coat pocket and handed them over. Eina looked over the small stones with a small frown. Already he had been in the dungeon, and without a falna no less. He was lucky to be alive, even if it was just goblins, and showing her the crude knife he had taken from them as his only weapon only elevated that thought. This wouldn't net him much, only about 600 valis. Not even enough to get him a room anywhere. Eina quickly handed him his earnings before swiftly walking back to where her post was. Akira watched her go with confusion. Eina quickly dipped under the counter, only to resurface a moment later with a pouch in hand. She walked back over to Akira, unclasping the embroidered cloth pouch she was holding, Eina removed a few different sized and colored coins before handing them to Akira.

"Here is an extra 2000 valis to make sure you can eat and sleep in a decent room for tonight and tomorrow. Consider this a favor." Akira was touched by the gesture and gave her a large smile. Accepting the donation to his nonexistent finances, Akira put all the coins in his jacket pocket. "Well that'll be it for today." Eina said clapping her hands, getting Akira's attention. "Come back tomorrow morning, and we'll continue our discussion on familias, which ones are in Orario, and the typical recruitment style you can find. I want to make sure you join a good familia." Eina said with a stern look leaving no room for argument. Again Akira was touched, aside from Sojiro, no one had really gone so far out of their way for him, and while Sojiro had not been exactly forthcoming in telling him all the things he did for him, he had still been more of a dad to him than Akira's own father. So seeing this level of kindness from someone like Eina, who was sure to be busy tomorrow with other responsibilities, was huge to Akira. His large smile returned again before nodding.

"You'll definitely see me tomorrow. Thank you for everything today Ms. Eina." Akira said sincerely, punctuating his statement with a bow. Eina smiled softly after hearing his appreciative statement.

"Just Eina will do. I'll see you tomorrow Akira." Eina spoke, her smile still sitting gently on her face. Akira grinned before turning around and walking out the door. Stepping outside into the cool and crisp air. Akira took a deep breath, closing his eyes and filling his lungs. He released it slowly, letting the tension from sitting hunched all day fall away. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky. A bright moon lit up his surroundings, with a crazy amount of stars that filled up the sky. He hadn't seen stars much since he moved to Tokyo after his incident with Shido. Seeing as how this was going to be the world he was in for the foreseeable future, he could get used to staring at this sky. As Akira looked around, he probably should have asked Eina for the nearest hotel or inn. Sighing at his own folly, he decided the walk would do well for him anyway. He started to the left, aimlessly wandering the city streets. He passed by several different people, and after reading the mountain of books Eina had given him, one of which being a book about the different races you could find, he could recognize a few of them. Some being Chienthropes, Renarts, and even some full blooded elves that walked in a group, their long pointed ears a dead giveaway. The difference between these elves and Eina, who's a half-elf, was not only were the elves ears longer, they also possessed a regal air about them. After walking around looking for his target, Akira finally found one. A building with the lights still on caught his sight first. It was a two-story building with simple windows made of wood. The door was painted red and had the name of the establishment painted on it that read 'The Dungeon Dweller Inn' Sighing in relief at finally finding his destination, he walked up to the door. His exhaustion really started catching up to him now. Opening the door, Akira immediately felt the warmth of the fireplace soak into him, welcoming and drawing him further in. While it hadn't exactly been cold outside, the heat of the fire felt so pleasant. The reception area was rather small, a few wooden round tables and wooden chairs sat on one side of the building with the brick fireplace near them. On the other side, there were stairs leading up to another floor, and toward the back wall was a long hallway and a reception table before it. A few rough looking people sat at the tables eating, drinking, and overall being merry. Behind the reception desk was a thin man sitting in a chair reading a book. He had long hair tied in a ponytail with some spots of gray in it. He had reading glasses over his nose and was wearing a white button-up shirt and currently had his head down in a book.

Walking up to the man, Akira knocked on the desk to get his attention. The man looked up, and with a smile on his face greeted him to the inn. Putting a bookmark into his reading material, he spoke again to Akira.

"How may I help you today young man?" He asked in a kind voice.

"How much is a room here?" Akira asked, hoping he wouldn't use up all of the resources Eina had given him.

"For a single night of board and breakfast, it's 1000 valis." The man said to Akira. Akira mulled it over for a second, considering Eina had given him 2000 valis, and he had his extra from the goblins, he had enough for two nights easy, but he would need to find a way to make money soon. Eina had made him promise in the middle of their study session that he wouldn't go back into the dungeon until he had joined a familia, and seeing no reason not to, he agreed to her demands. Seeing as his options were likely limited, he gave the man a nod, pulling out two coins that said 500 on it, and handing it to the man.

The older gentleman smiled and accepted the tender. Giving the boy a key in return, he pointed to a room down the hall behind him and bid him goodnight. Making his way to his room, he entered, locking the door behind him. The room itself was very basic. A queen sized bed with white bedding was to his left, with a single nightstand next to it with a lit lamp on top. On the far wall was a wooden dresser, and to his right was a simple wooden door that he assumed led to the bathroom. Going to the nightstand, he emptied his pockets onto its surface. The coins he had earned plus what Eina lent him, the dagger he took from the goblins, and his own knife and gun from home that were pretty much useless to him now. The last thing he pulled from his pocket was his mask. He held it in his hands, looking it all over, and staring through the eye holes of it, as if a face would be staring back. These last couple days had been so bizarre. Today however was definitely worse than the others. After the Holy Grail successfully merged Mementos and the real world, he had to watch his friends burn and disappear. Then he ended up in a dungeon in a world he was unfamiliar with. While this was his second "New world", it was just as jarring as when he and Ryuji accidentally stumbled onto the steps of Kamoshida's castle in Mementos. Still at least with Mementos he could return anytime he wanted to. Now however, he had no idea how to get back, if he even could.

Setting the mask down along his other things, he started removing his clothes. Starting with his jacket, boots, and then the rest of his getup. It was so odd to Akira that these were his actual clothes now. Whenever he had gone to Mementos the clothes just appeared on his body, fitting him like a second layer of skin, and if they were ever damaged, they would appear as good as new the next time he went in. He doubted they'd be magically good as new anytime soon though, which made him more glad that Goblin didn't tear his glove when he bit down on it. Finally undressing and being left in his underwear, Akira peeked into the door on the other side of the room. Opening it and seeing that it was indeed a bathroom, complete with toilet, sink, and tub, he decided it was a good time to get clean. Although it did strike him as odd that a medieval place such as this had modern amenities, including running water, though he was definitely grateful and honestly too tired to care.

After finally scrubbing clean and drying himself off, Akira came to a startling revelation that he should have noticed sooner. He had no change of clothes. Akira sighed and put his clothes off to the side, he would ask the receptionist man outside tomorrow how he could clean his clothes. He wasn't stinky before, and he wouldn't start now. Getting into the surprisingly soft covers and bed, Akira shut off the lamp that was on the nightstand, bathing the room in complete darkness. Akira laid there in the darkness staring at the ceiling. Now that he was finally alone, he felt his eyes tear up. He hadn't had a chance to sit and think about this alone all day. The tears never fell however. He had never cried, instead he made a small vow. He would remain strong for his best friends, he owed it to them. He would find them, rescue them, and save his own world. He wiped his eyes on his blanket before he lied down fully and closed them. Soon exhaustion from this long day took over him and he passed out.

* * *

Akira stepped outside of the guild once again. He had just got done spending several hours with Eina yet again. While spending time with her is definitely a plus, the unfortunate headache from information overload he could definitely do without. She had thoroughly explained the familia hierarchy in Orario. The top most influential of those being familias like the Freya familia, Loki familia, and Ganesha familia. Eina did give personal recommendations of familia to try and join. Those being Loki familia, Ganesha familia, or perhaps joining a smaller familia like Takemikazuchi who treat their familia members more like an actual family instead of just toys. She also told me to stay away from Ishtar familia especially. Something about them being immoral and a terrible influence. Seeing as how Akira's knowledge of this world stemmed from what he's seen and what Eina told him, he decided to take her word for it.

Eina had told him how to find the housing of Ganesha and Loki's familia, one being a giant elephant and the other being a freakishly large mansion. While he had no doubt in his ability to find them, simply climbing onto a roof and looking around especially since subtlety seemed to be non existent here, he would look around and weigh his options here.

Leaving to the right of the guild this time, Akira strolled casually down the cobblestone road. It still filled him with a sense of wonder to see such diverse races and people. It wasn't hard to tell that adventuring was the main bread-winner in this society, what from all the dungeon references in the different store fronts he passes, plus all the people wearing all different kinds of weapons or carrying tomes. It really did look like an RPG fantasy. Knowing what he did now from all the intense studying he did under Eina, he could really start to see the difference in these adventurers. After Eina explained the whole 'Level' system that adventurers underwent, he was slowly able to start picking out differences in the way people carried themselves that could giveaway if they're a higher level or not. Eina had told him that most adventurers never made it past level two, so while many people did look the same, he was starting to see a couple that could potentially be higher than that. While he was testing his perception of different people along the busy streets, he noticed in front of him that the crowds were starting to disperse to either side and make room in the middle. When he was finally able to see what was causing it, he was surprised to see it was just a group of three people. In the middle was a short-haired redhead with her head in a ponytail. She wore a tight black and blue long sleeved crop-top with super short shorts and black tights with blue boots. She had a smug smirk on her face as her closed eyes seemed to be scanning the crowd. Flanking on either side of her was a beautiful long green-haired elf wearing a white cloak covering what was underneath with brown boots and a long staff with a snowflake atop it across her back. On the other side of the red head was what looked to be a twelve year-old with blonde hair. He wore a golden vest over a purple long-sleeve and a gold and black skirt over purple leggings and brown boots. There was probably more to him than what meets the eye. Akira could instantly tell from the awed and revered looks the crowd was giving to this trio, that they were likely either super strong or famous. Maybe both. Akira fell into step with the crowd and gave the trio a wide berth. Akira felt his eyes drawn to the center redhead. _'Must be a God'_ Akira mused. He had felt a couple others draw his attention on his way walking around, so he figured he was correct. As the trio passed him the redhead glanced to the side to him. Her squinted shut eyes opened a bit as they made eye contact. Akira felt as if she was seeing him all the way to his soul as they locked eyes for what felt like minutes before she looked ahead and the pressure was lifted. Akira heaved a sigh. He hadn't felt this invaded in a long time, and not on such a personal level. Gods were scary. Akira high-tailed it the other way. He didn't feel comfortable being looked at so closely, though he figured he might have to get used to it if he was dealing with actual Gods in this world.

* * *

Loki continued marching forward with Finn and Riveria beside her. Her thoughts were now preoccupied with the boy she made eye contact with. His dark hair and eyes felt so familiar and yet so foreign. There was also some mixed feelings she was getting when looking at him. She stopped and looked back and saw him shuffling into the crowd. Seeing their Goddess stop, Riveria and Finn turned around as well.

"Something wrong Goddess Loki?" Finn asked aloud.

"That boy. Have either of you seen him before?" Loki asked her two of her favorite children. She pointed to a black haired youth in a long coat. Both Finn and Riveria spotted the boy with ease, as his clothes didn't match the rest of the crowd.

"No we haven't. Do you wish us to get him for you?" Riveria asked her Goddess. Loki shook her head and turned around.

"Let's see what the guild has on him before we make a move." Loki said as she turned around and continued to her original destination. Both of her children nodded and fell into step behind her again. Loki's thoughts remained on the dark haired boy. Loki smiled, she felt certain feelings stir within her that she hadn't really felt in awhile. She felt her trickster spirit rear its head once again.

* * *

Akira was really starting to get annoyed now. How hard was it to join a small familia? He'd been rejected by seven different familias. Granted he knew that this wasn't going to be an easy task, he didn't think it would be this humiliating. He didn't even get a chance to talk his way in before he was shut out, which was annoying because he was great at talking his way into things. While he knew his stature wasn't imposing, he didn't think it would be such an issue. Three different familias had told him that he was too skinny to be a good adventurer, one said his clothes were weird and that was why, two said he just looked weak. The last one he just checked however at least gave the response that they just didn't have room for more members at the moment and politely pointed him in the direction of another familia he could try if he thought he was strong enough. And so that's what he was doing now. Akira came upon a decent sized three story home. It was made of white brick with several large windows on each floor. It had a large front patio made of painted wood that led to a large red door. It had a well manicured front lawn with two fountains on either side of a paved center walkway that was wide enough to fit some of the carriages he had seen around town. It had a white stone wall surrounding the outside with a sign that had a hammer with three triangles interlocked on the middle of that hammer.

Akira walked up to the door and knocked three times. He heard some shuffling and before the door was opened by a rather short and stout individual with a beard. The dwarf before him had long brown hair tied in several braids, along with a large beard that was also braided exquisitely. The man wore gray heavy set armor with fur lining his collar and shoulders. He had brown thick pants with several plates of armor covering it on all sides and thick dark boots. His brown eyes squinted as he looked Akira over.

"What can I do for ye?" The dwarf spoke with a heavy accent he didn't quite know where from though. His eyes continued assessing Akira after he asked his question.

"I'd like to join your familia. I was told I may be welcome here." Akira spoke to the dwarf. The dwarf looked deep into Akira's eyes before laughing.

"Har Har Har. I doubt it wee one. You don't possess the strength necessary." The dwarf continued to laugh. Before Akira had a chance to huff and walk away, a new voice spoke behind the dwarf.

"Baldor, who is at the door?" A deep rich voice spoke. The dwarf immediately stopped laughing and went rigid. He turned around and bowed before speaking in as much of a respectful voice he could muster.

"A boy who says he wants to join, but I told him he doesn't have the strength, sir." The dwarf said to the imposing voice out of Akira's sight.

"How many times have I told you, you don't always need physical strength to make change." His curiosity was really eating at him to see who this individual was before they finally walked into the door frame. Tall and muscular were Akira's first thoughts. He gazed upon the man who he immediately recognized as a God. The man was head and shoulders taller than Akira. The man had shoulder-length blonde hair that was neatly trimmed. He had a well-groomed beard under bright blue eyes. He wore a fine black tunic with the same three triangle symbol on one side of his chest. He also wore silver breeches and had black boots. Draped over his shoulders was a long red cape that reached down to his ankles. He had a large smile on his face as he nudged Baldor the dwarf aside. "Welcome to my humble abode, young one." He greeted Akira with a blindingly white smile. "If you wish to join my familia there is but one test I would ask of you. Come on in." He turned and walked into the home, Baldor stepping aside to let Akira in.

When Akira walked in he saw his first glimpse of the inside of the house. It was a mix of white and gold coloring with a splash of red. There were two large staircases on either side of the large main foyer he had stepped into, with a balcony between them and hallways leading off the side of them. Before them were large ornate doors that went to either side of the house. And probably deeper in considering the large front lawn this estate had. Right before the balcony was a large chandelier that lit up the main area dazzlingly, and below that was what looked to be a large marble pedestal that held a large hammer on top of it. The hammer itself was not very crazy in design. As Akira followed the god forward, he got a closer look at it as the God stopped next to the hammer. It had a worn leather bound handle that was about as long as Akira's entire arm with a leather hoop attached to the bottom. The hammer itself had a large head with sides that ended in two pyramid shaped spikes. The head of the weapon was almost half as long as the handle and almost two feet across. The hammer itself was polished so well, Akira could see his own reflection in it. The god smiled as Akira walked near the hammer.

"This is a test that not many can pass. I only have about five members in my familia and they can all lift this hammer as if it was as light as a feather. However, if this hammer deems you not worthy, it won't even budge," The God's smile never faltered as Akira walked ever closer to the large weapon. "Don't worry, you won't be punished if it doesn't budge, but you won't be able to join my family, now let's see what you can do lad." The god finished. Akira took a deep breath as he reached up and grasped the handle of the large hammer. He felt a surge of power flow through his arm as his hand met the handle. He felt something akin to electricity race up his arm and flow through his entire body that lasted for a few seconds. When that finally subsided, Akira took another deep breath and lifted. To his and the dwarfs surprise, the hammer came off the pedestal with ease. The large hammer looked almost comical in his grasp, but it felt almost natural in his grasp. The God let out a hearty laugh before walking over and clapping Akira on the shoulder.

"Well done Lad!" The jovial man said. "I knew I could sense something special about you. I want to take this time to officially invite you to join my familia." As absurd as the situation was that Akira had been through these past few days, he couldn't help but smile. So apparently he was worthy. Though what he was worthy of he didn't know, but it still felt nice. Though as if reading his mind, the large handsome God spoke again. "Only those that are righteous and have a strength of will that is judged by my Father Odin are worthy to pick up Mjolnir. I would be honored to have you join me." Akira smiled again, but couldn't help but find those names familiar. Though regardless, he finally had a familia.

"I would be honored to join…" Akira left his sentence open. Seeing the open ended statement, the God laughed again.

"I didn't even introduce myself did I? My apologies lad." He stuck his hand out to Akira who took it with the one not still holding the large hammer. "My name is Thor. I am the God of Lightning and Thunder. It is a pleasure to meet another worthy of wielding my hammer." The now named Thor said with a bright smile. Akira felt it all click together. He was standing in-front of the Norse God Thor. The legendary warrior who was renowned for his feats in battle. He had studied Norse mythology a little in school so he knew a decent amount about Thor. Even though, Eina had told him that Gods were real and he had seen some before, it was completely crazy to him to see a famous God in the flesh before him. Akira's eyes widened as the man before him took a whole new meeting. The man grasped the handle of the hammer and took it from Akira, setting it back up on the pedestal. The man clapped his hands before yelling out in a booming voice, "Everyone to the entrance now. We have a new resident." The pure level of noise caused Akira to jump a little which caused a smirk from the dwarf that had walked past Akira to stand next to his god.

Within the next few moments, there were several sounds of doors being opened and shut before a couple people started arriving into the foyer. First was another tall and muscular man with deep black hair wearing what looked to be pajamas with little hammers on them. The next was a short petite girl with purple hair and rich purple eyes. She was wearing a mix of dark blue and brown and black. She wore a dark blue short sleeved tight shirt with a brown leather harness. She also wore dark blue fingerless gloves, and small brown shorts with black thigh-high boots. She walked down the stairs and stood next to her God and the pajama wearing man with tired eyes that looked like he was about to nod off. The next two came from a door that was behind the pedestal of the hammer that was farther off that looked like it led to an expansive backyard. One was another tall man that was heavily armored similar to the dwarf but red in color. He also wore a gold circlet under red hair. He had calculating blue eyes and a small scar on his right cheek. The other was an elf with light blue hair. She had bright calculating blue eyes over fair flawless skin. She wore a silver chest piece with what appeared to be Thor's symbol on the right breast and black gloves. She wore silver bracers on each arms with the hammer symbol on them as well. She had on a white skirt with red trimming and armored shin guards and leather boots. They all walked up to beside Thor, giving Akira sidelong glances as they neared him, all except for PJ man who looked like he was about to fall asleep on the red-haired man's shoulder.

"What's going on my God?" The elf asked. Thor's smile widened before he spoke.

"How many times have I said to just call me Thor?" He laughed as he chided the elf. The elf turned her head away slightly.

"I will continue to address you with respect as always Thor-sama." She said. Thor laughed again while shaking his head.

"To reiterate, what is going on?" The red-haired man said as he looked down to Akira who was a few inches shorter than him.

"We have a new recruit!" Thor said excitedly. That got the group's attention as they all looked him up and down. They each had different levels of reactions. Doubt, respect, and indifference were what he saw.

"He really picked up the hammer?" The short purple-haired girl said. "But he doesn't look strong."

"Neither do you." The sleepy dark haired man spoke up without opening his eyes. Thor laughed again before speaking.

"Regardless of how he looks, he was worthy to wield Mjolnir. Let me start introductions. First and foremost, you already met Boldor. He is level four and is quite strong. He helps our dealings with the Hephaestus familia."

"Aye. I welcome ye." The dwarf spoke. Pointing to the short purple haired girl next, Thor spoke.

"And this small cutie is Ashelia. We call her Ashe. She is level three and provides backup support." Thor spoke as he ruffled her hair. The girl's face lit up in embarrassment as she shoved Thor's large hands out of her hair.

"Ya, ya hi. Don't call me small or short and we won't have a problem." Moving to the sleepy man, Thor gave him a light nudge.

"And this lazy fool is Xander. I promise he's not this lazy in a fight, as depicted by his level three status." The tired man gave a lazy wave before he went back to leaning against the armored man beside him. Thor sighed before introducing the next one.

"This handsome fella is Rodrick. He is level four and was my first recruit. He leads everyone here and makes sure we all have what we need." Thor said about the red-haired man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you find our familia well." Thor gave a large smile at the polite greeting, before moving to the last one.

"And finally, this is our strongest member Saeya. She is level five and is our main slayer." The girl just nodded at Akira with her hands crossed. Thor sighed before going back to the middle of the group and facing Akira. "Now that you've seen my familia will you join?" Thor asked with his smile still shining. Akira looked at each of them in kind. They all looked reliable enough, and even though they weren't his Phantom Thieves, they definitely capable enough to work with. This was going to be the next chapter in his adventure until he returned home. Akira smiled before replying.

"I'm Akira Kurusu. If it's alright with everyone, I'll be in your care." Reacting to his words, Baldor grinned, Ashelia smiled softly, Xander didn't even open his eyes, Rodrick smiled, and Saeya smirked slightly. Thor grinned brightly at his words.

"Well said lad. I could sense something familiar in you. I know you'll do great. Welcome to Thor Familia."


End file.
